Why apps user different user panes and how to use forum style for all (or other) apps? The vertical has 0 info with mini avatar, the side has more info, can we enable this for all apps?

[chilihead]

Why can't there be a universal user pane? On side, on top, here, there.

The blogs/gallery/records have the user pane on top of the post with no info info and the mini avatar. You cannot tell who is in what group, location, anything, and my members are used to the forum user pane. How can we switch to that? Can we please have settings? Per app possibly for those that want different?

PS. This may be an oversight, since forums used be the parent app, and when you went to child apps you already knew the info, but now you don't need forums. So we need the full pane ability.

Ex: imo this looks horrible and you can't tell if the person asking to download IPS is a client until clicking or hovering. I'd like to use the forum style for all apps. Maybe people like this style but they should be able to choose.

 

 

 

[Vikestart]

Yeah, I don't like how comments are set up in Pages, etc. They should look like they do in the Forums app. Design consistency and all.

The only place I agree with comments looking different is comments for Status Updates.

[chilihead]

Yes consistency, at least as an option for us, and yeah status updates aren't a standalone app so makes sense, but anyone running blog alone for example, no forum, will probably want the full pane. I believe this is a spillover from v3 when you had the forum as the parent and forums were king but the new idea is all apps can run alone. So for all apps.

PS. If status updates can run with core and no apps in the future, I'd imagine some might want the full pane on the member page too but that's a discussion for another time. Really, just needs this for the apps.

Options.

[Morrigan]

While I'm neither for or against improving the mini profile for comments I am completely, totally and utterly against using the author pane from forums anywhere but for forums. Just closing my eyes and imagining it I would totally rage quit a site that had that look everywhere. It would be overwhelming and redundant.

I like that the information is in a hovercard.

[chilihead]

I like the choice, which would allow you to keep that setting.

I have a reason for people seeing locations, groups, and the group icon etc. which would clutter the top, so want it on the left for the other apps.

 

[chilihead]

I would need this for the job posting board I am creating with Pages for example. No forum.

[Morrigan]

I think that this is relatively easy to gain by making your own templates and not to shove it down everyone else's throat because it's good for "you". Adding an option such as this just adds to server resources because it has more information to call.

I also don't believe it's as simple as a "light switch" like toggling as you seem to imagine. That would require an entirely different template to be made specific for comments (on top of the one already there) and I think that would likely potentially botch other templates which would be a mess.

My recommendation, if you need it then why don't you adjust your own "Comment" template?

[Vikestart]

They could use a scaled down version of the Forums template. Slightly smaller avatar, username, etc., but try to keep all the information intact, such as group images, rank images and member titles.

I like that the information is in a hovercard.

Member titles aren't in the hovercards though.

[Morrigan]

Then ask for that to be there? I mean a "scaled down version" the scaled down version is in the hovercard. I don't understand why you need such redundancy with information? It seems a moot point.

I would personally prefer that usernames were formatted everywhere over showing the user group everywhere. But guess what? There's a mod for that.

[Lukeroge]

They could use a scaled down version of the Forums template. Slightly smaller avatar, username, etc., but try to keep all the information intact, such as group images, rank images and member titles.

Member titles aren't in the hovercards though.

Then maybe they should be added to hovercards.

Personally, I like most parts of the suite having a scaled-down user-area, having the full forum one everywhere would be overkill.

[Vikestart]

Then ask for that to be there? I mean a "scaled down version" the scaled down version is in the hovercard. I don't understand why you need such redundancy with information? It seems a moot point.

I'm not sure I'm following you because...

Most of the information in the hovercard is not even in the author area in the forums app. Most of it is different kind of informaiton like last visited, join date, current viewing and buttons to message or ignore the user + search for content posted by user.

The hovercard has a delay before appearing, so it's impractical when you're not specifically seeking out information versus information just being there.

[Morrigan]

Then add it yourself?

Making yourself a custom hovercard or a customer template makes your forum unique and it will also include the information that you want. It's not practical to have all of that information all over the site. It becomes a mess of clutter and whatnot when you can easily just go to the profile.

Yeah the hovercard takes a second to load but you add all of that data, all of those pictures, all of those calls to the page you're adding that load into the initial load of the page.

To add insult to injury I normally don't see long comments, I see long posts. If this information was the same across the board you are now adding white space that is unnecessary because you want "extra stuff" just to sit there and take up space.

The only way I would honestly support this is if you could come up with a practical way to do it without causing undo-terrible looking comments because "there isn't enough stuffs there".

[chilihead]

In mobile both are vertical panes (on top) but in the apps they still have limited info, in fact, they have none.

This is the member pane in forums when replying... all the info you need, nice and neat...

This is in Pages (and apps) when commenting...

No avatar, no nothing. It obviously all fits nice and neat as they already do this in the forums. Look how much info is there. Username, avatar, rep, group, content count, pips.

I would love if these were consistent and easy to edit globally so we could check off what we wanted in it, what we didn't (for those that fear bloating). But having multiple panes does not look good imo, full site, or mobile.

IPS4 is all about moving past the forum model. Consistency across apps is key. For those that want less info, a menu to edit the pane would be great.